Ortiz sworn in, as family, colleagues lightly tease

Freshman legislator to fill the District 33 seat in Texas House

Comedic posturing charged 196 family members, friends and supporters
of Solomon Porfirio Ortiz Jr. with laughter at the District 33
representative-elect's swearing-in ceremony Saturday at the
international center named for his father.

After he saw his son portrayed as a dancing puppet in a campaign
opponent's political ad, U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi,
told those gathered in the Nueces Room, "I told Soli, 'You dance pretty
good.'

"My son has decided to leave the shade of our family tree to go into
the sun and see how much he can glow," said the veteran
congressman.

The new state legislator, 29, bested Republican Joe McComb, 59, in
the regular election. Until the Legislature reconvenes Jan. 9, he also
will fill the seat left open by former Rep. Vilma Luna, who resigned
July 5 to take a lobbying job. That gives him a few weeks seniority
over other incoming freshman representatives who will be sworn into
their posts at the first of the year.

Screams of support muffled thundering applause after Ortiz avowed
his commitments, placing his left hand on a Bible held by state Sen.
Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, whose district includes Corpus
Christi.

"My goodness," Ortiz said as the noise died down. "I'm shocked and
pleasantly surprised."

Hinojosa also used levity to share his experience.

"Being the old man in the delegation, I just need to teach him how
to slide and duck," Hinojosa said, earning laughs.

"I had hair when I started, too," he said, grinning at the younger
Ortiz. "Just remember: kissy, kissy, kissy while they stab you in the
back."

Ortiz is a 1995 graduate of Incarnate Word Academy and 2000 graduate
of Texas A&M University in College Station who first taught school,
then worked for nonprofit organizations. At age 24, he began serving
two terms as county Democratic Party chairman.

"I knew it would happen some day," said Yvette Ortiz-Sanchez, 35,
the new representative's sister. She is Democratic Precinct 125
chairwoman and earlier this year helped select her brother for the
party's nomination for the District 33 state representative seat.

"As a kid, he used to interfere with me and my girlfriends by
listening to our personal conversations," Ortiz-Sanchez said. "He had a
crush on a few of them, but he was shy then - now he's blossomed."